PBS (tv network)

Mike Nichols was a stranger in a strange land when he and his family fled Nazi Germany in 1939 and immigrated to New York. He was 7.

"When he came here, he only knew two lines of English: 'I don't speak English' and 'Please don't kiss me,'" said a good friend, producer Julian Schlossberg ("American Masters: Nichols & May: Take Two.")

Related "PBS (tv network)" Articles

Mike Nichols was a stranger in a strange land when he and his family fled Nazi Germany in 1939 and immigrated to New York. He was 7.
"When he came here, he only knew two lines of English: 'I don't speak English' and 'Please don't kiss me,'" said a good...

Published in Los Angeles Times on January 24, 2016 — Print headline: "A life of improv from an early age - Director and funny guy Mike Nichols is celebrated in new PBS documentary"

Don't cry for "Downton Abbey." PBS isn't.
As the popular period drama about the lives of British aristocracy and their domestic servants winds down with its sixth and final season, the network is setting its sights on what's next: a new Ken Burns...

Nearly 30 years after it first aired on PBS and at a time when race relations once again dominate the national conversation, the landmark series "Eyes on the Prize" is returning to television.
The 14-part documentary, which chronicled three decades of...

The Civil War returns to television after a long absence to remind us that as bad as this country's political divisions may seem, they could be, and have been, much worse.
Also that PBS is still counting on "viewers like you" to tune in even after...

Published in Los Angeles Times on January 16, 2016 — Print headline: "Amid war, they hope for `Mercy' - TELEVISION REVIEW"

SERIES
Sesame Street The venerable children's TV show premieres on its new channel with two new episodes. 9 and 9:30 a.m. HBO
Austin City Limits Ryan Adams performs an acoustic set of hits, and Shakey Graves performs songs from the album "And the War...

On a sweltering June afternoon, women in heavy hooped skirts and men in thick wool suits bustled around a historic building in the former capital of the Confederacy as it was transformed into a Civil War hospital for the new PBS drama "Mercy Street."
...

Published in Los Angeles Times on January 17, 2016 — Print headline: "Much drama off the battlefield - The Civil War-era PBS series `Mercy Street' unfolds in a hotel-turned-hospital."

With wins for Mozart, Cookie and even Lady Gaga, the TV awards at Sunday's 73rd Golden Globes got a little crazy.
Surprise was the order of the evening as the Hollywood Foreign Press Assn. bestowed top honors on the relatively little-seen classical-music...

Published in Los Angeles Times on January 11, 2016 — Print headline: "Small screen delivers biggest shocks - `Mozart of the Jungle' leads a chorus of surprises as the awards show honors some little-seen programs. - TELEVISION"

"Of Oz the Wizard" (Vimeo). Matt Bucy created this alphabetical reshuffling of "The Wizard of Oz," from "a" to "zipper," in 2004, but for reasons known only to himself, refrained from sharing it with the rest of the world until last week. The dozen...

Frank Ferrante describes himself as a new vaudevillian: Just like the performers of the past, he's on the road every year, performing his one-man show, "An Evening With Groucho," in which he channels the acerbically brilliant Groucho Marx.
Having...

Published in Los Angeles Times on January 06, 2016 — Print headline: "A Marx man - Frank Ferrante hits the bull's-eye with his theatrical show `An Evening With Groucho' at the Pasadena Playhouse"

SERIES
NCIS A new crossover story with "NCIS: New Orleans" begins when Abby's (Pauley Perrette) brother (Tyler Ritter) becomes the prime suspect in the poisoning of the passengers and crew of a private plane traveling from New Orleans, 8 p.m. CBS. The...

After nearly two years away, “Sherlock” returned to television with a New Year's Day special broadcast more or less simultaneously on PBS and the BBC. (PBS will re-air the 90-minute episode Jan. 10, and it will run in theaters nationwide Jan. 5 and 6.)...

As a popular phrase has it, this is the age of "peak TV," a term incidentally evocative of the mountains of television under which we now are buried — a mountain that just grows bigger with every passing season, midseason, mini-season and micro-season....

Published in Los Angeles Times on January 01, 2016 — Print headline: "New shows keep piling higher and higher - Winter television preview"

SERIES
Mystery Diners Comic books go missing from a comic book-themed restaurant in this new episode of the hidden camera series. 10 p.m. Food
SPECIALS
I Get That a Lot In this new installment of the show, which features celebrities playing pranks by...

Ken Burns already has a trophy case stuffed with Emmys, Grammys and honorary doctorates. But now he's about to add another honor: grand marshal of the Rose Parade.
The 62-year-old documentarian behind such PBS productions as "The Civil War," "Jazz,"...

Published in Los Angeles Times on December 28, 2015 — Print headline: "He'll be a focus on Jan. 1 - Filmmaker Ken Burns can sit this one out as the Rose Parade's grand marshal."

The relationship between the United States and Britain is never more "special" than at Christmastime: mince pies and plum pudding, Victorian carolers and Boxing Day sales. Long fueled by seasonally classic films from "A Christmas Carol" to "Love...

Published in Los Angeles Times on December 24, 2015 — Print headline: "Christmas with the Doctor and some midwives - Popular characters in British shows deliver suspense and tizzies for the holidays. - TELEVISION REVIEWS"

Still haven't checked off those on your gift list who are of a more melodramatic or histrionic temperament? Never fear. There is a cornucopia of holiday goodies waiting for the thespians and theater buffs, to say nothing of the divas, in your life.
The...

Published in Los Angeles Times on December 20, 2015 — Print headline: "Star quality in holiday gifts - If you still have a few of those theater types on your gift list, there are goodies galore to be had."

“Making a Murderer” -- Netflix’s new 10-part true-crime documentary is as unnerving as it is addictive, in part because it is so addictive.
Over the course of 10 hours, writers-directors Laura Ricciardi and Moira Demos tell the story of Steven Avery,...

Data up! Three Southland startups raised significant cash last week, all sharing similar business plans: They analyze data to boost other companies’ revenue.
Los Angeles-based Factual raised $35 million from a big group of investors including...